Collapsible dish drainer



Aug. 17, 1954 A. BRECHT COLLAPSIBLE DISH DRAINER Filed March 8, 1951 ATTEY INVENTOR ALBERT L- BRECHT.

BY I

Patented Aug. 17, 1954 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE COLLAPSIBLE DISH DRAINER Albert L. Brecht, Philadelphia, Pa. Application March 8, 1951, Serial No. 214,479

3 Claims. 1

This invention relates to a collapsible wire dish drainer of novel construction.

Dish drainers are known which are composed of wire arranged in the general manner of a basket or receptacle and sometimes covered with rubber, plastic or the like. While these are useful, they have the serious disadvantage of taking up a good deal of space when not in use, and many housewives, dish washers, etc., find this objectionable and inconvenient.

One of the objects of this invention is to provide a collapsible wire dish drainer which has adequate capacity when in its expanded form but which can be flattened substantially into a single plane for storage purposes or when not in use.

Another object of the invention resides in providing a very simple and inexpensive form of wire dish drainer which has an associated means for keeping the drainer in its expanded condition during use.

Other and further objects and advantages will be understood and appreciated by those experienced in this art. 7

In the accompanying drawing,

Fig. 1 illustrates my new collapsible wire dish drainer in side elevation and in its expanded condition;

Fig. 2 is a plan view of Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is a plan view of the drainer in its collapsed condition and Fig. 4 is an end elevational view looking from right to left in Fig. 1.

Referring now to the drawing in detail, the new dish drainer comprises an upper rectangular frame member l composed of copper or other suitable metal or alloy wire having straight parallel ends H and I2 and a plurality of loops or eyes I 3 along each side [4. Frame Ill is composed of a single piece of wire fabricated into the shape illustrated and the ends thereof, which preferably meet in one of the end members H or [2, are welded, soldered or brazed together (not shown).

The bottom of the drainer comprises a pair of parallel supporting wires [5, which are secured at their ends, as by means of welding, soldering or brazing, to the parallel end members [6 and I! of the inner rectangular frame member l8, which has its side members l9 provided with a plurality of spaced loops or eyes the same as the outer upper frame above described. The inner narrower or smaller frame 18 is, therefore, substantially identical with the outer larger upper frame In except for the supporting elements is which also serve to provide the drainer as a whole with adequate strength against undue distortion without rendering the drainer rigid.

It will be noted that a keeper member 2i is attached to one of the side members IQ of frame it, as by means of a sleeve portion 22 so that it is capable of angular movement around the frame member without becoming disassociated therefrom. The keeper member also has a central groove or channel 23 therein and terminates in a finger portion 24, which is provided with a transverse groove or recess 25 perpendicular to groove or channel 23.

Associated with and passing through the loops 20 of the side members 19 of frame l8 are a plurality of transverse wires 26, which are of general W-shape. The central portion of each of these wires 26 is humped up as shown at 21, the intermediate straight portions 28 pass through the loops or eyes 20 and the outwardly angularly extending portions 29 terminate in trunnion-like portions 30, which are adapted to be received in the loops or eyes 13 of the outer frame Ill.

It will, therefore, be noted that the W-shaped members 26 are pivotally mounted within loops or eyes 20 with respect to the inner smaller frame [8 and also with respect to the loops or eyes l3 of the outer larger upper frame l0. Thus, it will be apparent that the entire construction can be collapsed so that it occupies'substantially a single plane and in such fiat condition is suitable for storing in a small space or for shipping in a minimum size container. The yieldability and flexibility of the W-shaped members make it readily possible to carry out the collapsing action and, should it be so desired, the frame it! can be removed by retracting the ends of the members 20 by moderate inward force. Thus, disassembly can be carried out, if desired. When the drainer is in the collapsed condition, one of the supporting wires I 5 is received in'groove 25 of finger 24 of the keeper 2|, which is of generally angular brace shape and, when the basket is in its expanded condition as during use, the keeper 2| is angularly moved to a vertical position, as shown in Fig. 1, for example, and is also slid somewhat along the supporting wire l5, so that the outwardly and upwardly extending portion of the end W-shaped member 26 is received in the groove or channel 23 and serves to maintain the expanded condition of the drainer while permitting easy and simple collapsing by swinging the keeper downwardly and under the inner frame until it again assumes the position shown in Fig. 3, where it is in a position which occupies no space beyond the confines of the device itself.

It will, therefore, be appreciated that I have drafted a simple and highly novel and useful dish drainer which is composed of wire and which is collapsible and expansible at will. It is understood, of course, that, if desired, the wires may be covered with rubber or plastic material in the usual manner but this is not necessary or a limitation upon the invention.

I claim:

1. A collapsible wire dish drainer comprising an inner and an outer rectangular wire frame, each wire frame being formed of a continuous length of wire the inner wire frame being shorter and narrower than the outer wire frame and each frame being constituted of a pair of substantially parallel end members and a pair of substantially parallel side members, a plurality of spaced loops formed in and disposed along each side member of each wire frame to form transversely aligned sets of four loops when the drainer is in expanded condition, and a plurality of spaced, transverse frame-connecting W- shaped \vire members pivotally associated with and extending through the said frame loops, each of the W-shaped wire members passing through a respective one of the said sets of four loops, and means on the inner frame member for detachably engaging a leg of one of the W-shaped members to hold the same in expanded condition relative to the inner frame member to thereby hold the entire drainer in expanded condition.

2. A collapsible wire dish drainer in accordance with claim 1 in which said engaging means comprises a keeper member is pivotally mounted to rotate about a side member of the inner frame, said keeper member being provided with means to engage an adjacent leg of a W-shaped member to hold the drainer in expanded position.

3. A collapsible wire dish drainer in accordance with claim 1 in which said engaging means comprises a keeper member attached to one of said parallel side frame members to maintain the drainer in its expanded condition, the said keeper member including a tubular portion through which the side frame member passes, an intermediate portion with a channel at right angles to said tubular portion adapted to grip a leg of an adjacent w-shaped member when the drainer is in its expanded condition, and a terminal finger portion provided with a groove disposed at right angles to the said channel adapted to engage a portion of the inner frame when the drainer is in its collapsed condition.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 457,800 Standish Aug. 18, 1891 1,010,832 Welden Dec. 5, 1911 1,158,984 Clair-born Nov. 12, 1915 1,171,924 Brown Feb. 15, 1916 1,658,744 Snyder Feb. 7, 1928 2,058,217 Dixon Oct. 20, 1936 2,159,365 Barrie May 23, 1939 2,479,118 Jenness Aug. 16, 1949 

